Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also referred to as “drones,” are becoming more popular for unmanned delivery, survey, camera functions, and more. Often the range of a drone determines its utility, which may be limited by the weight of cargo, components, battery, and/or fuel. In addition, the range is limited for drones that need to travel both to a destination and back to a home base (i.e., a round-trip). While fixed wing UAV's tend to have improved range characteristics, finding a suitable landing and takeoff area and avoiding obstacles can be a challenge.
Conventional pitcheron aircraft use a pivotal wing assembly that pivots each wing separately along the wing's longitudinal axis. In this way, the wings provide the control surfaces for flight, rather than using ailerons. Thus, pitcheron aircraft do not use traditional ailerons, spoilers, or elevator control surfaces, which results in a sleek aerodynamic design. However, the ailerons, spoilers, and elevator control surfaces provide a braking function, which enables landing in a smaller area. Thus, conventional pitcheron aircraft tend to need longer areas (e.g., runways) for takeoff and landing.